Prepping for Phase 2

Tomorrow I leave for the 2nd leg of the trip. So far it has been 3 days and 200 miles. Here is the route that I took to Tennessee.

The next phase should take me just over 225 miles to Boone, NC in 3 days. Then I will depart for Asheville, NC Brevard, NC and then Greenville, SC. Here is a map of the route I intend to take.

Now it is time to pack up the bike. I lost a little screw on my rack, so hopefully I don't lose all of my supplies before I make it to the bike shop.

The past few days have been great at my Grandparent's house. We watched some playoff hockey, went to see fun country shows and rode roller coasters at Dollywood, ate some tasty meals, watched playoff lacrosse, saw fireworks, went to church, and took the boat out for a relaxing day on the lake. It has been great, but I need to make it back to Greenville by Friday so I can watch after Millie (Goose and Kelsey's Dog...they are taking a vacation to celebrate 1 year of marriage! Exciting stuff)

85 miles tomorrow. Can I do it? Who knows...

Tail of the Dragon - May 25

Woke up at a quarter past 6. I seemed that mostly everybody at the Fontana Hilton shelter was early to rise. I wanted to get on the road before the motorcycles smeared me into the pavement. Since I wanted to expedite my departure I didn't break out the stove to boil water for a tasty meal of oats. Instead, guess what?! I put a gob of peanut butter on a bagel, I ate a peanut butter flavored granola bar, and I was set. Once everything was loaded onto Aretha (the bike) I headed up to the restrooms, which was where I filled up on water. I didn't mind the sign that said drinking the water there was unsafe unless it was boiled. The sign was from 2003, so I just hoped that the water quality had drastically improved since and that I wouldn't lose my guts from diarrhea, giardia, dysentery, or something with a name too difficult to spell or even pronounce. Just kidding. A few of the guys at the shelter told me they had been drinking the water for a while and were fine...time will tell if I'll be alright!

As I left Fontana Dam behind in the dust at 7:15 am I actually took the right road! I didn't get lost at all on this glorious Wednesday. There was a lot of climbing right off the bat and I was slightly nervous for the Tail of the Dragon (remember, it's the curviest mountain road in America). My nerves were calmed, however, as I rode parallel to the Little Tennessee river in the early morning. The fog on the water made for an exceptionally peaceful setting and it felt nice when the mist hit my face. Pretty soon into the trip I entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the state of Tennessee. Hennessy was now in Tennessee. Right before I got onto highway 129 North, I saw a pretty cool predator, but it wasn't a dragon. A red fox was skirting across the road with a dead rabbit in it's mouth. Awesome! Even though the prayer to see a bear for the first time in the wilderness had not been answered, I was still seeing some exciting creatures.

Then I started the Tail of the Dragon. It was cool because there were tons of small waterfalls directly on the side of the road. My personal goal was to see 20 waterfalls this summer and I'm pretty sure that I saw about 20 small waterfalls in the span of a few miles! There were not many cars on the road yet because it was early, but there was probably 10 to 15 motorcycles that passed me for every car that passed me. There are positives and negatives to having motorcycles on an insanely curvy road with you. Positive = motorcycles can maneuver out of your way much quicker than a car = less likely chance motorcycle will smoosh you. Negative = some motorcyclists are crazy and drive 3x faster than a car would on that infamous road = more likely chance motorcycle will smoosh you. Positive = motorcycle weighs much less than the car, so if it smooshes you, it won't smoosh you quite as badly. Also, even the tatted up guys on the motorcycles are pretty cool. They all waved and gave me this head nod that kinda said, Dang! This kid is doing this road on a bicycle...respect! So I like the guys on the motorcycles. Eventually I made it towards the end of the Tail of the Dragon and there was a professional photographer who snapped some pictures of me. I stopped to talk to him. His name is Al and he sits up there everyday taking pictures and selling them to the tourist motorcyclists who come through. Al asked me if I had a sponsorship. I laughed a big laugh and said, shoot I wish! I was honored he thought I might have a sponsorship, but I'm yet not that much of a beast. Anyway, you can check out some of the pictures he snapped of me here.

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0CVY00SG050000&po=0&pc=155

Eventually I made it off the mountain. The Tail of the Dragon was fun! I was riding over 40 mph for a good bit of it. Grandpa always told me I wasn't allowed to ride a motorcycle, but this seemed pretty darn close. Once off the mountain I rode next to beautiful Lake Chilhowee for a while. The road was flat once again...it seemed strange. Then there were some hills and I started to cruise through some farmland. I was getting hungry. A couple dump trucks passed me and their exhaust smelled like a Big Mac or a Whopper. As I realized that was ridiculous and that I was slightly delusional, I had to pull over and eat some food because I was going crazy. Peanut butter sufficed, but BBQ was on the mind. A few miles later I passed a BBQ joint. Closed. Dumb! There was only about 25 miles left to my grandparents house. I passed some tractors, passed some horses, saw some amazing weeping willow trees, and I found 4 turtles on the road. Each one I picked up urinated all over the place...sissies.

12:30 pm - made it to Grandpa and Grandmas house on Tellico Lake. Immediately ate an enormous cold cut sandwich, 2 Cheerwines, and 4 almond and caramel and oozing chocolate brownies. Glory! It took 200 miles to get to their house, but it was incredibly rewarding. Now I will plan a trip back to Greenville. I'm thinking about getting a little crazy and Going from here through the Smokies and up to Boone, NC, then down through Pisgah National Forest to Asheville, then back to Greenville. Should be fun times and about 500 more miles.

It was fun to have a few days alone with God and Aretha in the wilderness.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
                                                                     -Romans 1:20

Now I am going to hang out with my Grandparents and Dad. Toodles for now.

May 24- Voyage to a place named after a good friend aka Fontana Lake

My legs felt suprisingly good when I woke up after a 65 mile trip up the mountains the day before. I loaded up the bike and then headed to the Young's house for some breakfast. It was scrumptous. Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, peach yogurt, strawberries, and a banana. This food made me feel like a champ. I took a picture of the family, minus Tyler who had already gone to work and Becca who was still asleep, so I could put it on this blog. Remember, I am using Kelsey's camera and I don't have the cord to connect it to the computer...so I'll put the pictures up when I get back to Greenville.

At 9:15 am I hit the road...but I hit the wrong road. Aretha (now the name of my bike) was taking me down the mountain at 40+ mph. After about 1 mile I had a bad feeling that I took the wrong turn. Aretha struggled back up the hill, but we made it back where we started from, legs nice and toasty by this point, and we continued on the correct path. As I rode down the mountain a bit I passed a sign that said God's country. It was comforting to know that somehow I had managed to make it from the mountains of Western North Carolina into God's country. Another sign read "Jesus Saves." Word! Then I started climbing again and had a United Pursuit Band song stuck in my head. The lyrics say "I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open." I kept singing that and believing it figuratively, but I didn't actually take my hands off of the handlebars because that would have been foolish. I did, however, take my hand from the handlebar to clear the guts of a locust that slammed into my face out of my eyeball. That was gross.

Aretha turned onto WIndy Gap Rd. I guess this is where the Young Life camp is located?? I didn't pass the camp, but I did get an exciting ride. The road turned to gnarly gravel and decided to decend very quickly. I unclipped from my pedals for fear that I would fall and have boulders embedded in my skin. The brake levers were being squeezed so tightly that my forearms were getting a workout. I tried to pump the brakes so my rims wouldn't overheat and make my tire explode. Luckily I didn't pop a tire! Towards the bottom of this enormous gravel hill, much of which I actually had to walk my bike down, I was glad that I was going slow because I passed a sign that said "Please slow down. Watch for... kids, dogs, old folks." The guilt of running over some sweet old grandma would have ended the trip on the spot. In the late morning I made it through Franklin, North Carolina. All that was there was a fair. The views from some of the overlooks were way better than the money I would have had to pay to ride the ferris wheel, so I convinced myself not to impulsively take a ride. There were wildflowers everywhere and I thought about how I was having one of the most enjoyable experiences ever. Then I came upon another long stretch of gravel road, but this one was flat and ran along the Nantahala River. It was so gorgeous. The beauty got me thinking about heaven. I really want to go there...really really really badly.

Then I went up a hill. I sang the climb this mountain song some more until I passed a church sign that said "Sing to the Lord a New Song." I laughed and said, ok! For about the next hour or so I freestlyed songs about the Lord and his goodness. It is pretty cool to admire God and pray via freestyle rap. As I was rapping I started to take a huge climb up NC 28 North. This climb lasted about 18 miles total. My directions were confusng so I stopped to ask some people for help. Wanna know how to teach a man to ask for directions? Put him on a bike and tell him to ride over a mountain range. A wrong turn for a few miles on those hills is a pretty big deal, ha. Anyway, at this point I had asked a bunch of people for directions. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. They all thought I was crazy when I told them the route I was taking. This couple from Louisville, KY told me about some nice cycling routes up in the Smokies that I should check out. The woman, I forget her name, had on an Ironman shirt. She did an Ironman race. Those people are crazy, but inspiring. Thinking about how crazy it is to complete an Ironman, I rode up the mountain some more and came across this diner in a place called Stecoah. The diner was called the Stecoah Diner. The building was bright blue with bright yellow trim. Obviously I had to stop. The bright colors were too enticing the avoid. Mrs. Cathy Cody served me inside and talked to me all about living in the area and all of the crazy motorcyclists that like to ride The Tail of the Dragon (oh, it's just the curviest mountain road in America that I was about ride on my bike the next morning. 381 hairpin turns in 11 miles to be exact). Mrs. Cathy gave me an awesomely large corndog, some home fries, and about a 3.8 liters of sweet tea for just $5. Good times. I inquired about free camping and she told me to hit up the Appalachian Trail shelter at the Fontana Dam. I said, sounds good. Then I left.

Guess what...I went up the hill more. I passed a sign that said "Truck Advisory. Up to 12% Grade 15-20 MPH Curves Next 46 Miles." I looked down and said, you've got this Aretha! The views going up the mountain kept the legs pumping. They were starting to feel like well oiled pistons. I thought I could have ridden a hundred or more miles in those mountains. But I stopped at the AT shelter.

I locked up my bike (there was this grungy dreadlocked hippie wandering around who looked a little sketch) and I checked out the dam. It was large. Hundreds of feet high. It was gross to see some of the garbage that accumulated on the back side of the dam, but other than that the view took a little bit of my breath away. I went back to the shelter, named the Fontana Hilton, which was made by Mike Short and was donated by Papa Smurff in 1993. Everybody else there was hiking the AT. There was about 15 of us, and about 7 of those guys were through hikers. Their stories were inspiring. I got to know the grungy hippie a bit better. His name is Spider. No, that isn't his AT hiking name, it's just what everyone calls him. He has a tattoo of a huge spider on his back and a Grateful Dead tat on his shoulder. Spider had a black lab dog named Yucky. He told me the dogs entire name, which was like 15 words long and was something along the lines of Yuck Butterfly Dandelion Buttercup Master of Sniffing and Incense yadda yadda yadda... It was funny. Spider was 30 and has been hitchhiking around the country, practically homeless, since he was 15. There was another guy there who was in his 60s and his trail name was Laser Legs. He said the name was because his legs were skinny, white, and blinding. Ha! This guy had a super thick Southern Virginia accent and he related with the young whipper snappers well. He just started talking to them and found really smooth and great ways to share the Gospel with everyone there. It was cool the way that Lazer Legs presented God's grace and His goodness. It made me smile.

I went down to the lake to pray for a while. It was awesome and God taught me some cool things about my future. I was feeling extra grimy and so I decided to get into the lake. I took a dip that was the opposite of fat...if ya know what I mean. Once I was so fresh and so clean clean I joined everybody back up at the shelter, learned a lot about backpacking from the guys, and caught a sweet toad! They liked hearing about the adventures I was having on the road, and I liked hearing about the best "trail magic" someone had left them. After story time I attempted sleep in the shelter. I attempted and attemped and attempted for a couple more hours. There were a few guys who had chain saws stuck in their throat. They were snoring so loudly! Next time, ear plugs are a must. 10 pm is when I got into my sleeping bag. My watch read 1:07 am and I was pretty upset. If I had a pillow I would have thrown it at somebody. Eventually I fell asleep with bugs crawling all over my body. It was awesome.

Made 70 miles on Tuesday, May 24. Total for the trip was now 135 miles.

The Night is Young

I made it to Summit Charter School. It's a small school (10 or 12 8th graders) in the middle of nowhere that sort of looks like a fancy barn or stables. The administration quickly came out to greet me and tell me that they received me email and had been anticipating my arrival. A quick phone call was made to make sure it was alright for me to interrupt the 8th grade science class. The kids knew there was going to be a suprise, but one of them told me they figured it would be chocolate cake. He was even more excited that I was there to visit, but personally I would have preferred the chocolate cake...well maybe not, but definitely marble cake. The kids erupted with excitement when I entered and said, "Whoa! It's Jeff! I didn't really think he was gonna come!" A few weeks back this class told me that I should come visit them in Cashiers and so I said I would come up on the bike. We talked for a few minutes and they referred to be as their counselor from Barrier Island. I politely said, I'm not a freaking counselor! I'm a Naturalist! I teach about alligators and salt marshes and science and stuff! Just kidding...I didn't say that. We took a snazzy group photo and then I hung out to finish out watching a dinosaur video with them. These paleontologists were trying to figure out if there was a smaller sub-species of a Tyrannasaurus...then they realized they were morons and that the skeleton they found was from a juvenile. Class ended at 3:25 and they kids immediately proceeded to sing me the fish song that I taught them in our seining class. It was awesome. The song is like heads, shoulders, knees, and toes, but with these lyrics.

Dorsal, Pectoral, Pelvic, Caudal, Pelvic, Caudal
Dorsal, Pectoral, Pelvic, Caudal, Pelvic, Caudal
Lateral Line, Operculum, and Gills
Dorsal, Pectoral, Pelvic, Caudal, Pelvic, Caudal
And don't forget the Anal Fin!

It was pretty awesome that they still remembered the elementary physiology of an osteichthyes ;). After they sang the song I asked if anybody knew of a free place to stay. Ask and you shall recieve, right? Well, initally it looked like I was going to have to pay $28 to stay at a campground...bump that! I looked at maps with the administration and then the Principal came out and said that the Young family wanted to offer a shower, dinner, and a house to stay in for the night. Immediately after the offer was presented I said, Uh, yes please!

Kevin and Caroline Young are twins in the 8th grade class. Their older brother, Tyler, came out in the Suburban to drive me 3 or 4 miles to their house. Tyler just finished his freshmen year at Furman so we had a lot to talk about. When we got to their house Tyler, Kevin, and I threw the frisbee for about half an hour. Then my back started spazzing out because of my poor posture on the bike. I almost collapsed, but made it inside to sit on the couch and give myself a back rub. Eventually David and Susi Young, the parents, made it home with Becca, their daughter who is a NYU student. This family was awesome! They seemed to love each other so much and truly appreciate the small things about one another. I immediately felt like a part of the family, which made the stay with them very enjoyable. They took me down to the house where I was going to stay the night. Yes, I had a house to myself...a nice mountain lodge house. I was pumped up and didn't think it could get any better.

The Young kids took me to see an amazing part of their property, which was an 18 acre lake. Their Grandfather dammed it up and gave the lake to their Grandmother as a wedding gift. What an amazing gift! Kevin, Tyler and I hopped into a few of their kayaks and Becca, Caroline and Circi (the dog...his name means suprise in Italian) busted out the paddle boat. We tooled around in the lake for a bit and Kevin helped me with my Appalachian Mountain plant identification. This family was very well educated. It was cool how smart and humble they all were. I sat in the kayak in the middle of the lake and thought to myself, is this real life? I was pumped about the adventures I was having. Around 8 pm we loaded into the back of the pick-up truck and went back to the house for a fantastic dinner of hamburgers, chips, and some sort of rice, beans, corn, and tomato splendor. To cap of an extraordinary evening we watched some of the BCC series Life. It was great, but Oprah is no match for Mr. David Attenborough. I walked over to my personal mountain house and passed out around 11 pm.

What a day! I felt extremely blessed and fortunate.

Greenville, SC to Cashiers, NC - May 23

I woke up bright and early to leave Goose and Kelsey's house before 7am. I wanted to hustle out so I could beat all of the congestion due to the US Cycling Championships on Monday. One thing that I realized early on in this bike trip is that Google Maps hasn't quite mastered it's cycling routes. I tried to check them out to make sure they were alright, but the directions were still a bit confusing. A few wrong turns were taken in Greenville and I was wondering if the entire trip would be a logistical nightmare. After cruising through a few extremely low-income neighborhoods in Greenville and figuring out the confusing directions I made it out to the country.

It was nice to see huge hay bail bundles and rolling fields in the foothills. Cruising along, saying hello to all of the horses and cows that I passed, I looked ahead of myself at some daunting hills that were quickly encroaching. Even before I started the massive climb up the Appalachians, I had to stop a few times within the first couple of hours to chow down on a granola bar and a gob of peanut butter...mmm, I love peanut butter. It was in the mid-90s on Monday and I was chugging water like a Chinese Popcorn Tree. The legs started to feel tight and I realized that stretch sessions would become essential every couple of hours. It felt amazing to be outside, soaking up the sun, and really having no idea where I was going. My directions were fastened onto the frame of my bike in a compact clear toiletries bag, but none of the back roads I was taking were familiar.

I arrived at Lake Keowee around 10am and I realized that sunscreen was going to be an essential part of this trip for my white, pasty Irish skin. Bull Frog brand, SPF 36 Quik Gel is awesome! It dries instantly and doesn't have a funky smell. Even though I kept lathering it on during the 3 day trip to Tennessee, I now have a pretty sweet fingerless glove tan and a nice harsh line from where my cycling shorts stop on my thigh. Just before I started the massive climb up the mountain I started to get a bit tired because of the heat. Then I passed about 35 churches in the span of 1 or 2 miles with incredibly encouraging things written on their church signs. You know, the cheesy quotes that people always make fun of. Well, they hit home a lot more when you are about to pass out from heat exhaustion and realize that you still have many more thousands of feet to climb in about 30 miles.

At about 11 am I started to climb. I figured I would be in Cashiers by noon. False! I probably should have checked out a topographic map for this part of the ride because for the last 20 miles of the trip, from 130 North, or Whitewater Falls Rd, up South Carolina 107 N to Cashiers, NC it was a straight up hill climb. Now, it was not that the climb was anything steeper than I have done before, it was just that it lasted for 20 straight miles and I had already done 45 miles on my first day of the trip...oh yeah, and it was about 95 degrees outside with no breeze. Also, quick interjection...whoever in Greenville does not think Paris Mountain is a real mountain is a fool. The gradient of Altamont Rd is as steep in certain parts as anything I encountered in the Appalachians. The only difference is that it's only about a 4-5 mile climb up Paris Mountain, as opposed to 20. Anyway, back to the mountain on SC 107 North. I started getting brutally fatigued when I hit the North Carolina border. Yes! It was such a feeling of accomplishment. The first state line I have ever crossed on a bike. A few minutes after the state line I stopped to slab about a pound of peanut butter on a bagel. I put the peanut butter jar down on the guard rail when I screamed WHOA! I jumped back and realized an enormous rat snake was on the guard rail staring me down. After about 1.5 seconds I regained composure and wrangled that sucker! He was pretty friendly and he didn't even musk on me. It was cool because I was praying to have some close encounters with wildlife along the trip. Thanks God! I gave little Rashan the Rat Snake a kiss and sent him on his way.

The snake pumped me up and I knew I was getting close, but I couldn't take it. The slope up the hill was blowing my mind and my loaded up bike probably weighed 70 lbs. Right when I thought I was going to die from heat exhaustion I laid down on the side of the road and killed my water. Oh crap, now what?! I rode up the hill about half a mile and heard a beautiful noise coming up...it was a waterfall right along the road! Thanks God! I took out my handy dandy Katadhin Hiker Pro water filter and got some fresh H20. Then I jumped under the waterfall and tried to turn myself into an ice cube before I had to quickly defrost in the scorching heat and humidity. I got back on my bike. Then I fell over in the middle of the road. A man stopped to ask if I was ok. I am stubborn, so I said yes. Inside I wanted so badly to ask for a 5 mile ride up to Cashiers, but I knew I had it in me to finish. Eventually I made it to the little mountain resort town. I passed a few golf courses, a country club, and numerous gated communities. I took a left down a gravel road and made it to my first destination; Summit Charter School. I was there to suprise an 8th grade class that I taught a few weeks back at Barrier Island. At this point I had no idea how I was going to speak to anybody. Considering the heat and the hills, this ride was more physically demanding than anything I have ever done in my life. I just wanted to drink a gallon of water, eat everything fast food, and pull a Rumplestiltskin.

More to come on how this day turned into one of the coolest days ever!   

The Eve of the First Voyage

So I just loaded my bike and it is extremely heavy. Hopefully I will still be able to keep it upright when I am riding. After I finished loading the bike I decided that it will probably be a good idea to get some panniers (bags) on the front of my bike in the future. The KHS TR 101, which needs a more personal name, is quite back heavy. I'm wondering if the weight in the back will cause me to back flip as I attempt to peak the first mountain. Hopefully that won't happen because I don't have a video camera to capture an amazing fall like that. I don't even have a regular still frame camera. Goose and Kelsey, my married roommates, however, were kind enough to lend me their camera for the next few days. I am sure I will see some amazing views, but who knows if the pictures will be any good. It has been absurdly hot and humid down here for the past few days so I am expecting a lot of haze in the Appalachian Mountains. Today Goose and I went down to Charleston to play lacrosse and I got a great idea of what it will be like to work out in this incredible summer heat. I got a little sunburnt and I got a nice little cramp in the gluteus maximus. A little icy hot should get me good to go by tomorrow. Tomorrow night I hope to make it to Cashiers, NC. I'll post another update in a few days because I am not bringing a computer on the bike. I'm also not bringing an Ipod. These next few days should be a great retreat from technology and a great time to commune with the Lord. Off to chill with God in the wilderness... -Jeff

The Route to Tennessee

I need to figure out how to actually embed a map. Soon enough.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Broughton+Drive,+Greenville,+SC&daddr=Mitten+Ln,+Cashiers,+Jackson,+North+Carolina+28717+to:Robbinsville,+NC+28771+(Cable+Cove+Campground)+to:Geya+Lane,+Loudon,+TN&geocode=FVpVFAId-PQW-ympfNDjBi5YiDE1OvOnKYyHIQ%3BFSqRFwId9OwL-ylLz_B1mRxZiDFbW51fFG6YkQ%3BFaOpHAIdSgsC-yEIJVjvS2UQSQ%3BFaVjIAIdTmP6-imjVByJRodeiDGHGZFeCP_OWQ&hl=en&mra=pd&dirflg=b&sll=35.281501,-83.317566&sspn=1.260048,2.592773&ie=UTF8&ll=35.232159,-83.276367&spn=1.260815,2.592773&z=9&lci=bike

Jeff...a blogger? No way!

So I never thought I would have a blog, but people keep asking me if I am going to keep a blog during my cycling expedition next summer. By the way, the cross-country cycling trip that I am planning for next summer is still entirely an abstract idea. I do, however, have a bike. I have a tent. I have a sleeping bag. I have no set plans for next summer. I have a pair of legs. I have a stove, a water filter, and a desire for adventure. I'll keep you, whoever you are out there in cyber space, up to date with the planning, but I am currently planning my first short-distance bicycle tour. On Monday, May 23, I will be leaving from Greenville, SC and will be heading to visit my Grandparents in Loudon, TN; just South of Knoxville. It will be my first real test with the mountains, but the ride through Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park should be absolutely gorgeous. I have a rough route planned out and a couple of campsites, so now it is time for me to tie up the loose ends and make sure I have everything together. Pray for me.